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there doesn't seem to be an OB planned or even time for one between now and launch. there was some comments that seem to indicate not even all the planned CBs will be able to be done before the launch.

apparently it's pretty easy to hit the beta caps on multiple character and pvp on the beta weekends. ofc this bring about the usually silly assumptions that the levels after the cap will be just as fast to to level through(see this in nearly every mmo beta where the cap is low and leveling to it is fast).

but overall the betas seem very good comparatively., quick fixes to player issues and responses to player feedback in each patch.

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[quote name='brominated' timestamp='1294449550' post='593569588']
How does the community seem so far?
[/quote]

So far that i've seen they are very helpful. Every time i had a question people were more than happy to answer, and they seemed very mature. Whether this will change after it gets out of the closed beta status is yet to be seen, but i have enjoyed what i've seen so far.

In other news upon reflecting with my experiences in the game i would seriously consider reserving this game if i had another chance at the beta, i think i was a little harsh on it to begin with,and realize that i had messed up my settings some, so the game is actually much better looking then i remember. It has some damn good potential to be a good WoW competitor if the company supports it to a good extent.

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Got into the last beta, but given that it was right between Christmas and the New Year I didn't have time to play it. They let me in again though, and I just got through playing about an hour of it.

It's WoW. With a different look.

I'm not complaining, as I love WoW. But it really is almost exactly the same. The only difference is the class customization... Though one could argue that the classes are all available in WoW as the separate talent trees. For example, the mage lets you choose between Chloromancer (balance druid), Pyromancer (fire mage), Warlock (description sounded like an affliction warlock), Necromancer (demonology warlock), Stormcaller (elemental shaman/frost mage mix), etc. So while it seems like there are a lot of options, it's really just splitting it differently. Instead of 10 classes with 3 specializations each, you have 4 classes with 8 specializations each (3 can be active at a time, I believe).

Once again, this is not a complaint, just an observation.

And being able to mix and match so much isn't necessarily a good thing. You end up with abilities that are duplicates (or otherwise extremely close). For example, I made a rogue and went with Assassination first, and then Blade Dancer. Both had a finishing move (yes, it uses combo points, just like WoW's rogue) that did exactly the same thing, except one did slightly less damage. Why? Why not make them a bit different? Perhaps give me a DoT or something on one of them, something that gives me a reason to use both. Instead I had one that I took off my action bar as soon as I realized it was completely useless.

All in all, it seems pretty cool, but I don't really see too much to differentiate it from WoW, other than the look. Is that a bad thing? Not necessarily. But what are they going to do to pull in players?

This is all just from an hour or so of playing. Maybe end-game content or PvP are different than WoW; I'm not sure yet.

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[quote name='gigapixels' timestamp='1294451829' post='593569700']
Got into the last beta, but given that it was right between Christmas and the New Year I didn't have time to play it. They let me in again though, and I just got through playing about an hour of it.

It's WoW. With a different look.

I'm not complaining, as I love WoW. But it really is almost exactly the same. The only difference is the class customization... Though one could argue that the classes are all available in WoW as the separate talent trees. For example, the mage lets you choose between Chloromancer (balance druid), Pyromancer (fire mage), Warlock (description sounded like an affliction warlock), Necromancer (demonology warlock), Stormcaller (elemental shaman/frost mage mix), etc. So while it seems like there are a lot of options, it's really just splitting it differently. Instead of 10 classes with 3 specializations each, you have 4 classes with 8 specializations each (3 can be active at a time, I believe).

Once again, this is not a complaint, just an observation.

And being able to mix and match so much isn't necessarily a good thing. You end up with abilities that are duplicates (or otherwise extremely close). For example, I made a rogue and went with Assassination first, and then Blade Dancer. Both had a finishing move (yes, it uses combo points, just like WoW's rogue) that did exactly the same thing, except one did slightly less damage. Why? Why not make them a bit different? Perhaps give me a DoT or something on one of them, something that gives me a reason to use both. Instead I had one that I took off my action bar as soon as I realized it was completely useless.

All in all, it seems pretty cool, but I don't really see too much to differentiate it from WoW, other than the look. Is that a bad thing? Not necessarily. But what are they going to do to pull in players?

This is all just from an hour or so of playing. Maybe end-game content or PvP are different than WoW; I'm not sure yet.
[/quote]

I don't think it's so much as relying on innovation to drawn players in, as much as offer an alternative to WoW, as in "do you want to play WoW, or do you want to play Rift?" Both are very similar, it's like "do you want to play Call of Duty, or Battlefield?". Both games are shooters, but offer slightly different takes on the genre. Rift is attempting to combine the public quest things from Warhammer (i can't recall the name) with the raids/instances of WoW. The soul system in Rift is like taking the class combination system from Guild Wars and mixing it with World of Warcraft talent system in which you get to mix and match various talent trees from WoW and make a custom class. An individual may find themselves drawn to one or the other, in the way that someone might compare a Zune and an iPod. Both are very alike, but it's apples or oranges. People that don't want WoW itself, but want a game like it can try Rift, and vice-versa. I am honestly hoping that this game does well, because if it can offer a strong alternative to WoW it can get some healthy competition going (which, sadly, no other game on the market seems to offer WoW).

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Absolutely great video about Rift, made by the guy that makes the WoW tankspot videos. I must say, i'm growing to like this game. WoW has been getting stale (nothing against the game, it's great, but damn i've been playing 5 years), and the fact that if players don't take down Rifts they will get out of control and eventually take over the map is absolutely amazing. That means players will have to care about them, because eventually they will spread so far players will have no option but to fight back.

Absolutely great video about Rift, made by the guy that makes the WoW tankspot videos. I must say, i'm growing to like this game. WoW has been getting stale (nothing against the game, it's great, but damn i've been playing 5 years), and the fact that if players don't take down Rifts they will get out of control and eventually take over the map is absolutely amazing. That means players will have to care about them, because eventually they will spread so far players will have no option but to fight back.
[/quote]

too bad you can't watch that movie, it breaks after a few minutes no matter where you try to start it.

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I started playing it today, it's nice but it'll take me a while to get used to having played WoW for 4 years. I'm still only level 7, but everything is going well so far. Only gripe if I had to list one would be that my FPS is very low, even with settings turned down, and I have a GTS 450.

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[quote name='spikey_richie' timestamp='1294529373' post='593572300']
I started playing it today, it's nice but it'll take me a while to get used to having played WoW for 4 years. I'm still only level 7, but everything is going well so far. Only gripe if I had to list one would be that my FPS is very low, even with settings turned down, and I have a GTS 450.
[/quote]

I've seen many reports of people having FPS troubles, but i'm not too worried about it - it's only closed beta after all. That's just a simple optimization fix.

So, anyone Neowinians planning on getting this game? It would be great to get a Neowin guild going.

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[quote name='treemonster' timestamp='1294699744' post='593578724']
i'm thinking about it. there's a couple people i could play with from another forum. i love trying out new mmo's at launch too, so much rage in them and such good trolling in zone chat.

mostly depends on if it's on steam or not. anyone know? i got another xmas cheque last week so i have more gaming money.
[/quote]
Yep, it is.

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[quote name='Emn1ty' timestamp='1294709637' post='593579146']
I've been really enjoying the multi class system but aside from that there isn't very much that is new.
[/quote]

Like i said above, they are not attempting to offer a totally new MMO experience; they are trying to create a polished, and well working alternative. In the same that if someone is bored of Call of Duty they can try Battlefield, or vice versa. If people are bored with WoW, but want a equally polished, and content-full experience they can try Rift. Rift is trying to be the Battlefield to the WoW CoD, and from what i'm seeing they are succeeding. I'm tired of WoW, but i like the gameplay and polish so i will most likely play Rift, as it's much like WoW but it's changed up enough that it will feel fresh. I applaud the developer for offering a polished and complete experience that will compete with WoW on the front of having a content-rich, polished, and well developed experience; rather than trying to redefine the genre and fail (FFXIV).

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The main reason I enjoy Rift is that it satisfies my need for customization. WoW and many other MMO's don't do that. Be it in the character appearance or the abilities a game must allow me to create the kind of character I want to create and Rift does that very well with the current tree system. Even if the visual representation of the character is minimally customizable that tree alone makes the game worth playing.

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[quote name='Emn1ty' timestamp='1294862652' post='593585466']
The main reason I enjoy Rift is that it satisfies my need for customization. WoW and many other MMO's don't do that. Be it in the character appearance or the abilities a game must allow me to create the kind of character I want to create and Rift does that very well with the current tree system. Even if the visual representation of the character is minimally customizable that tree alone makes the game worth playing.
[/quote]

I agree, i can't wait to see how group composition will work. With them planning on giving very little addon support we will see very few addons like "Deadly boss mods", people will need to know their class and the battles. The fact that there is so much possibility might be very awesome in raids. Instead of needing a dedicated healer, you could bring a mage who can do fine damage, but heal those around him for some of the damage he does. Or instead of needing 3 healers you might only need 1 + a bard who could buff and off-heal, thus eliminating some of the damage and being able to fix up any that might get through.

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It also allows for off-builds where your fighting a bard who is buffing his friends and debuffing enemies and when you get close he suddenly vanishes only to assassinate you from behind. The creativity available in the builds is huge and the only thing I wish we could do is mix the base classes as well. Still, this is more than I expected and I almost feel it operates better than Guild War's system.

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[quote name='Emn1ty' timestamp='1294864119' post='593585554']
It also allows for off-builds where your fighting a bard who is buffing his friends and debuffing enemies and when you get close he suddenly vanishes only to assassinate you from behind. The creativity available in the builds is huge and the only thing I wish we could do is mix the base classes as well. Still, this is more than I expected and I almost feel it operates better than Guild War's system.
[/quote]

Yup, i think it will add a great twist to PvP. You can see their armor type (what base class they are), but what souls they have will be a mystery until you engage them. You will have to adapt on the fly because a warrior may only show one of his souls, and still have 2 waiting to surprise you.